Sweet Maria's Weblog

Happy World Standards Day! We're adding two new coffees, a workshop espresso, and a parchment coffee today. Check out the full reviews, but here's the rundown: 1) a new crop from Costa Rica "Cafe Sin Limites" farm with large mouthfeel and cocoa powder. 2)Nicaragua Mama Mina Microlot with mild brightness and mild fruit from this mostly Caturra farm. 3)Espresso Workshop #8 - Waw, Bukan Main! ... Just say Bukan? Yes, it's another workshop espresso blend, this time with an Indonesian basis in blend and name; well-rounded with nice body and a fruited overlay. 4)Costa Rica R.I.P. 2009 ... Please read the full review and the linked tutorial. This coffee is semi-processed and must be roasted carefully to attain rustic fruit without scorching the flavor.

We are revisiting this pairing idea since it is such a fundamental issue in coffee: how much the varietal character of the plant influences the cup flavor.First up we have El Salvador Siberia Estate Pacamara. We roasted this batch to a City+ level to highlight the cultivar flavor profile; this is tricky to do with this type of bean because I needed to stop the roast while 1st crack was still audibly ocurring.This meant final thermoprobe temperature of 420 degrees and roast times of 15 minutes using slightly smaller batch sizes than we normally do.Next we roasted Guatemala Finca San Jose Ocana which was roasted more in the Full City range and is a mighty dense little bean.So final thermoprobe temps were 434 degrees with roast times approaching 16 minutes.As for the cup comparison, the Pacamara has a floral sweetness, while the Bourbon has a maltier sweetness.These two are ideal examples of the variances in flavor due to cultivar.

Adding more images to our library of macro shots of coffee. Here I photographed coffee flowers, the leaf, leaf buds, some defects in green coffee and roasted coffee, and ...what the heck ... some bubbles. -Tom

This coffee has entered 2nd crack, and the increased porosity is evident, as well as pockets of migrating oils. This and many more interesting macro shots I have taken of green and roasted coffee, as well as coffee cherry, are now posted on the SM site and Flickr. -Tom